Brief rule for simple pastes. Past Simple - simple past tense in English
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Video lesson: Past Simple. Past simple tense
Past Simple (simple past tense) used to express an action that occurred at a certain time in the past, while the time for performing this action has already expired.
I went to the cinema yesterday. — I went to the cinema yesterday.
The action took place in the past, while the exact time is indicated - yesterday.
Education Past Simple
The past simple is used to form II form verb. If the verb is regular, then its II form is formed by: open - open ed . The II form of irregular verbs can be found in (in column 2).Let's look at the formation of the Past Simple using two examples with the correct ( work- work) and incorrect ( buy- buy) with verbs.
Statement
Work- a regular verb, therefore, to form the past simple form, you need to add an ending to the verb in the initial form -ed (work - work ed ):
I worked- I worked
We worked- We worked
You worked— You worked (You worked)
He worked- He worked
She worked- She worked
They worked- They worked
Buy- an irregular verb, therefore, we find the second form of the verb and remember this form ( buy - bought):
I bought- I bought
We bought- We bought
You bought— You bought (You bought)
He bought- He bought
She bought- She bought
They bought- They bought
About the rules for adding endings -ed to correct verbs, as well as pronunciation features -ed read .
Negation
Negation in the Past Simple is formed using an auxiliary verb did and particles not. Didn't is placed before the main verb. Wherein main verb used in I (initial) form.
did not work(did not work)
I did not work - I didn't work
We did not work - We didn't work
You did not work - You didn’t work (You didn’t work)
He did not work - He didn't work
She did not work - She didn't work
They did not work - They didn't work
did not buy(did not buy)
I did not buy - I didn't buy
We did not buy - We didn't buy
You did not buy - You didn’t buy (You didn’t buy)
He did not buy - He didn't buy
She did not buy - She didn't buy
They did not buy - They didn't buy
note that did not also used in short form:
did not = didn't (I didn't work. = I didn’t work. - I did not work.)
Questions
An auxiliary verb is used to form interrogative sentences did, which is placed before the subject. Please note that the semantic verb is used in the initial form.
Did you work?(Did you work?)
Did I work? - I worked?
Did are we working? - We worked?
Did are you working? - You worked? (Have you been working?)
Did he work? - He worked?
Did she work? - She worked?
Did are they working? - They worked?
Did you buy?(Did you buy?)
Did I buy? - I bought?
Did we buy? - We bought?
Did do you buy? - You bought? (You bought?)
Did he buy? - He bought?
Did she buy? - She bought?
Did do they buy? - They bought?
If a question begins with a question word (what? why? when? where? etc.), then this question word is placed before the auxiliary verb did:
What did do you buy? - What did you buy?
When did she buy this dress? — When did she buy this dress?
Who worked yesterday? — Who worked yesterday?
Who bought milk? — Who bought the milk?
Using the Past Simple
Past Simple (past simple tense) can mean:
An action that happened in the past and has nothing to do with the present moment
Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa. — Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa.
An action that happened at a specific time in the past
In this meaning, the Past Simple is often used with the words: yesterday(yesterday), last week(last week), at 2 o’clock yesterday(yesterday at 2 o'clock), 10 minutes ago(10 minutes ago), etc.:
I went to the cinema yesterday. - I went to the cinema yesterday.
We visited China in 2014. — In 2014 we visited China.
Actions that occurred sequentially (one after another) in the past
He came into the room, sat down and began reading. — He entered the room, sat down and began to read.
An action that often happened in the past and has no connection with the present
To show that an action has been repeated and habitual in the past, the words usually(usually), often(often), always(Always), every day(every day), etc.:
Every Sunday she visited her grandparents and helped them about the house. — Every Sunday she visited her grandparents and helped them around the house.
I studied German when I was a child. — I studied German when I was a child.
This value can also be expressed by the construct used to.
Past Simple is often used with words
The Past Simple is often used with words that indicate exactly when an action was performed:
yesterday[ˈjestədeɪ] - yesterday
ago[əˈɡəʊ] - ago
last week (month, year) - last week (last month, year)
two days ago- two days ago
long ago- a long time ago
the other day[ˈʌðə deɪ] - the other day
Do you have any questions on the topic? Ask them in the comments.
Past Simple is called the simple past tense, but for many it is such a dark forest that they do not know how to approach it. We are sure this is not about you, but still... Why do we (or rather, the English) need this Past Simple Tense? Past Simple (otherwise, Past Indefinite) is pronounced like past simple. The rules of the Past simple are simple: we will soon learn when the past simple is used, how the past simple is formed, why it is necessary to use the Past Simple, rules and examples of the functioning of this tense in the text. Imagine the situation: you are telling a friend what you did last summer. And we went there, and we were there, and we saw that. How can I tell all this in English? You can’t build barricades out of perfect forms, right? This is what the Past Simple is needed for.Past Simple Tense: rules of use in English
So, let's take a closer look at the Past Simple - when is this tense used?- An action that you (or someone else) has performed regularly in the past. How often is not important. At least every minute, at least once in a millennium. The main thing is that the action was repeated from time to time in the past. Like here: He often visited us (often visited), when we lived there.
- A constant sign of an object or a characteristic of a person in the past. What was this object or person once like? For example: Jane looked much better (looked much better), when I saw her last time.
- A chain of sequential actions in the past. Often found in fairy tales like “grandmother for grandfather, grandfather for turnip,” i.e. where the actions of the characters are described step by step. A chain of simple actions is also found in our everyday life. Take a look: I entered the hall, switched on the light, opened the wardrobe, and then quickly closed it. He entered, turned on the light, opened the closet - these are sequential actions, very little time passed between them. There is no point in complicating the sentence and trying to convey this chain of actions in any other way than Past Simple.
- One-time action in the past. Yes, yes, this is just about how you went to a resort 10 years ago, and now share your memories. Something that once happened some time ago (no matter yesterday or 140 years ago) is conveyed through the Past Simple.
Underwater rock:
What to do with cultural heritage? For example, Shakespeare wrote such and such a work in such and such a year. After all, we are using the results of Shakespeare’s work, and we are doing it now - in this case, the Past Simple is often confused with the present perfect, which precisely describes the result in the present. However, the simple paste rule here is quite strict. Any invention, any work once written is a fact in the past. And facts, especially indicating the exact date, are the sphere of the Simple times group.Past Simple: education
How is the Past Simple formed? And it's very simple. It’s not called simple for nothing. Past Simple, formation: V2 (second form of the verb). Do you remember that all English verbs can be divided into regular and irregular?Past Simple: rules for forming the simple past of irregular verbs
Irregular verbs live their own lives: they have three forms, all three need to be known by heart. To get the Past Simple, we use the second form (V2) of the irregular verb.For example:
Buy - bought - bought Read - read - read Cut - cut - cut Lie - lay - lain A list of irregular verbs is at the end of any dictionary or reference book. Ideally, this list should migrate from the reference book to your head. Fortunately, there are not many irregular verbs. Relatively. But all other verbs that are not on the list of irregular verbs are called regular. And everything is very easy with them. Past Simple: rules for forming the simple past of regular verbs Regular verbs in the Past Simple take on the ending -ed or -d. We add it to the stem of the infinitive.For example:
To kick - he kicked (kick - he kicked) To look - he looked (look - he looked)If the stem of the infinitive already ends in e, then only -d is added:
To dance - he danced (to dance - he danced) To invite - he invited (to invite - he invited) That's all! After all, it’s not for nothing that the Past Simple is called simple, right? But there are also some pitfalls.Nuance No. 1
If the word ends with the letter y, then it must be changed to i and only then added the ending -ed. We do this manipulation only and exclusively when y is preceded by a consonant.Compare:
To fly - he flied To obey - he obeyed In the case of obey before y - the vowel e. Well, let’s put the ending -ed and be glad that you don’t need to change anything!Nuance No. 2
Liked? Then here's your second point. If the verb ends with the combination: short vowel sound + consonant letter, then the consonant is usually doubled. To plan - he planned This is necessary in order to maintain a closed syllable. After all, if in the word planned we do not double the n, then we get an open syllable, and in an open syllable it is read differently. The end result will be a completely different word! Therefore, do not forget to double the consonant where necessary. But look at these examples: To fear - he feared To look - he looked There is no need to double anything here, because the consonants are not preceded by short vowels; nothing can affect their pronunciation. In British English, the l is always doubled at the end of a word: To quarrel - we quarreled But in American English such a metamorphosis does not occur. To quarrel - we quarrel How to correctly read verbs ending in -ed If putting a verb into the Past Simple is relatively easy, sometimes reading it is not very easy. Try not to neglect correct pronunciation, otherwise it will be very difficult for a foreigner to understand you.What about questions and denials?
To form a question or a negative, we need the auxiliary verb do. Without it, alas, neither a question can be made nor a denial can be formed. The auxiliary verb do in the Past Simple will have the form did. In a negative sentence, did is placed after the subject and takes on the negative particle not.Negation in Past Simple: rule of formation
Subject + did not + predicate (infinitive) Tom did not eat porridge. Didn't = didn't. Didn't is a shortened form of did not. In spoken language you are most likely to hear this form. Tom did not eat porridge = Tom didn’t eat porridge. Mark did not come yesterday = Mark didn’t come yesterdayQuestion in Past Simple: rule of formation
In a question, did will appear in the first position. The pattern of a general question in the past simple would be: DID + subject + predicate (infinitive)? Did Tom eat porridge? The answer to this question can be complete, but is usually short: - Yes, he did. / No, he didn’t.
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strong>Pitfall: A very common mistake when forming questions and negations in the Past Simple: using V2 instead of the infinitive. We have a good understanding of how the past simple is formed - using the ending -ed (for regular verbs) and V2 for irregular ones. Having understood this, we begin to put the second form of the verb everywhere, but in questions and negations this is superfluous! The auxiliary verb do has already taken over the functions of the past simple and turned into did (remember that do is an irregular verb: do-did-done. Accordingly, its V2 is did). Did ALREADY shows the past simple tense. There is simply no need to do any additional manipulations with the semantic verb (predicate)! Did already take care of everything! Special questions
These are questions that begin with a special question word. Question words: What what? Where where? Who's who? Why why? When when? Whom to whom? How how? Special questions are not as difficult as they seem. If the structure of a simple question looks like this: DID + subject + predicate (infinitive)? Then the scheme of a special question looks like this: Question word + DID + subject + predicate (infinitive)? We simply put a question word at position zero - that’s all! The rest of the word order remains unchanged. The English language would not be English if there were not some exception here. It is. With the question words Who (who?) and What? (what?), if we ask a question to the subject, this scheme does not work. True, it is even simpler. We simply put who or what in place of the subject! That's all! The predicate remains in the past simple. In practice it looks like this: Mary ate ice-cream yesterday. (Mary ate ice cream yesterday.) Who ate ice-cream yesterday? (Who ate ice cream yesterday?) Important: This scheme with who only works when we ask a question to the subject. If we ask a question to a direct object, then the scheme will be standard. Compare: Tom saw Mary two days ago. Who saw Mary two days ago? The question is asked to the subject (Tom). Who is in first position, no auxiliary verb is required. Let's move on. Let's first ask a general question (the answer to which will be “yes” or “no”): Did Tom see Mary two days ago? (put did in first place) And now a special question with who, but not to the subject, but to the direct object (Mary): Who did Tom see two days ago? Since we are not asking the question to the subject, it means, like any interrogative word, who appears in the zero position, did remains in the first position and further according to the standard scheme.)Past Simple Markers
Markers are our assistants, clue words that help us understand when we need the Past Simple. If we notice such a word in a sentence, this is a very eloquent hint that we need to use the simple past tense.
Okay, we know the markers, but where to put them in a sentence? After all, the structure of an English sentence is quite rigid... Markers containing the words last, every, ago, as a rule, are placed in last place in the sentence: I met Helen three months ago.
Emma spent three weeks in Paris last year. Markers often, never, usually, rarely, always and similar ones usually come before the verb: I never saw you working.
Tom and I always spent holidays together.
Important: If the predicate is not an action verb, but a verb to be, then these markers are placed after it: John was often tired. Marker yesterday can occur at the beginning of a sentence or at the end: Yesterday I bought a new fur coat.
I bought a new fur coat yesterday. And here sometimes In general, he can stand wherever he wants. Or rather, where you want: I went to Paris sometimes, but always felt uncomfortable there.
Sometimes I went to Paris, but always felt uncomfortable there. What to do if there are no bullets in the sentence? How do we work with an English sentence? First of all, we look at the markers. If you have an ago or last marker, then already at the stage of your first acquaintance with the sentence, without even translating it, you understand what tense you need to use: Past Simple. If there are no obvious markers in the sentence, then we move on to the next stage: translating the sentence. And here you may notice some clues. For example:
Year indication: in 1956, in 2007. My grandpa died in 2007. Month indication: in August, in September. I caught a cold in January. The word during- for some time. Attention: during can only be used with nouns denoting a certain time period! During summer, during the weekend, during our meeting. Mary was in London during the winter. Marker for. You need to be more careful with this marker. This is one of the most striking indicators of the Present Perfect time. However, if the action has already completed and there is no connection with the present, then for clearly indicates the Past Simple. Compare: I have lived here for 13 years. I lived here for 13 years. (And I still live or am about to leave.) I lived in London for 13 years, but then moved to New York. I lived in London for 13 years and then moved to New York. (No connection with the present; I lived once and then moved). Clarification with when I pierced my tongue when I was 16. This is a fact of biography from the past. Which means Past Simple. If the emphasis is not on the fact, but on the process, then a different tense, Past Continuous, will be used: I was eating when my mom called me. Emphasis on the process - I was eating when my mother called me. Pay attention to the second part of the sentence: when my mom called me. Here we use the past simple again. Why? Because a shorter action or an action that interrupts the process (expressed in this case through the Past Continuous) requires the use of the Past Simple. Translate the sentence correctly and see how the semantic accents are placed! Past Simple is primarily a fact in the past. If an action used to happen regularly, but is no longer happening now, the construction used to + infinitive is used. Using this expression, we can designate habits of the past that we do not have now, or qualities and properties that are currently absent. Take a look: I used to be good at drawing, but now I cannot draw even a straight line. I used to draw well, but now I can’t even draw a straight line. The translation of sentences of this type can begin with the words “once upon a time” or “remembered”. She used to be so pretty! I remember she was so pretty! As a synonym used to we can use would + infinitive- but only to indicate actions in the past, not characteristics! My mom would bake the best cookies, when I was a child. Now you know everything about the Past Simple tense and can express your thoughts with ease. To make your English even more beautiful, read our other articles about the rules and nuances of English grammar.Affirmative form
Subject + Infinitive without to ending in -ed (form Past Simple for irregular verbs)
1. The lesson finished 5 minutes ago - The lesson ended 5 minutes ago.
- finished – infinitive finish + ending -ed
- ago (back) – an adverb indicating the use of Past Simple
2. I invited them to the party - I invited them to the party (before).
- invited – infinitive invite + ending -ed
3. She paid for the tickets last week - She paid for the tickets last week.
- paid – Past Simple form wrong verb pay
- last week – indicates the use of Past Simple
Negative form
Subject + did + not + Infinitive without to
1. I did not buy any milk yesterday - Yesterday I did not buy milk.
- not – negative particle
- buy – infinitive without to
2. My friend did not pick me up - My friend did not pick me up.
- did – auxiliary verb to do in the Past Simple form
- not – negative particle
- pick up – infinitive without to
3. Last summer they did not go on holiday - Last summer they did not go on vacation.
- did – auxiliary verb to do
- not – negative particle
- go – infinitive without to
Interrogative form
did + Subject + Infinitive without to
1. Did they sing that funny song? – Did they sing that cheerful song? (general question)
- first
- sing – infinitive without to
2. Did you teach her to read? -Did you teach her to read? (general question)
- did – the auxiliary verb to do in the Past Simple form stands on first place to formulate a question
- teach – infinitive without to
3. Why did she stop visiting you? – Why did she stop visiting you? (special question)
- did – auxiliary verb to do is worth after question word why and before subject to
- stop – infinitive without to
#2 Uses of Past Simple
1. To express an action that occurred at a certain moment in the past. Used with the following words and expressions: yesterday - yesterday, last week (month, year, etc.) - last week (last month, year, etc.), a week ago (an hour ago, a year ago, etc.) - week (hour , a year ago, the other day– the other day, in 2014 – in 2014, and some others.
- Someone knocked at the door half an hour ago - Someone knocked on the door half an hour ago.
- It snowed yesterday - It snowed yesterday.
The time of action can also be expressed subordinate clause.
- I noticed him when he called my name - I noticed him when he called me by name (when he called my name - subordinate clause).
- My brother learned to swim when he was on holiday - My brother learned to swim when he was on holiday (when he was on holiday - subordinate clause).
2. For expression row past actions in the order in which they occurred.
- They opened the door and entered the house - They opened the door and entered the house.
- We went to the cinema, watched a film, then popped to a cafe and grabbed a couple of drinks - We went to the cinema, watched a film, then popped into a cafe and grabbed a couple of drinks.
3. For expression usual, repeated actions in the past.
- When my sister was little she cried every day - When my sister was little, she cried every day.
- At my previous workplace we had a staff meeting every Friday - At my previous job, meetings for employees were held every Friday.
#3 Verb TO BE in Past Simple
Linking verb TO BE It has two forms in Past Simple:
- was(used with nouns or pronouns in the 1st or 3rd person singular form);
- were(used with nouns and pronouns in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural).
- I was very busy yesterday - Yesterday I was very busy.
- They were in Rome in 2010 - They were in Rome in 2010.
During education negative And interrogative sentences with linking verb TO BE auxiliary verb did not used.
- Was she in the office last Monday? – Was she in the office last Monday?
Did she be in the office last Monday? - Are you tired? – Were you tired?
Did you be tired? - The weather was not so nice as last time - The weather was not as good as last time.
The weather did not be so nice as last time - Probably they were not at home when you came - Perhaps they were not at home when you came.
Probably they did not be at home when you came
#4 Regular and irregular verbs
When using the Past Simple, you should pay special attention to the formation of forms of the semantic verb. In English, verbs are divided into correct And incorrect.
TO correct verbs are those verbs that form the past simple by adding the ending -ed to the stem of the verb. TO wrong Verbs include verbs that form the Past Simple in other ways.
- She cut her finger when she was cooking dinner - She cut her finger when she was preparing dinner.
- Everyone stood up when the teacher entered the classroom - Everyone stood up when the teacher entered the class.
This is the simple past tense. With its help we say that in the past we:
took some action(single):
Last week I went to the cinema.
Yesterday I saw a rainbow.
They got married five years ago.
took some action(several times or regularly):
I always came to work on time.
He wrote me letters every month.
During the holidays she went to visit her grandmother in the village.
in past several sequential actions occurred, one after another:
I opened the book, read five pages and put it down.
I went in and locked the door behind me.
Anna woke up, lay down for another fifteen minutes and only then got up.
To make a sentence, we need a special form of the verb. If the verb is correct, then we substitute the ending -ed. If it is irregular, we take it from the second column in the table of irregular verbs.
I was at work yesterday. – Yesterday I was At work.
My parents were on holiday. – My parents were on holiday.
He did his exercises regularly. – He regularly did your exercises.
Mary went shopping. – Mary went to the store.
We danced all night long. – We danced all night long.
She played volleyball. – She played in volleyball.
They loved each other strongly. – They are very loved each other.
If you need a negative sentence (someone didn’t do something, didn’t do something), then we use two elements:
didn't (did not) + verb,
as we see it in the dictionary, without any particles or endings
I didn't see anything because of the darkness. – I'm nothing did not see because of the darkness.
They didn't play football. – They didn't play to football.
I didn't go shopping with you yesterday. – I did not go shopping with you yesterday.
We didn't learn that at school. – We didn't teach this at school.
She didn't know this. – She this dont know.
But if the main verb in our sentence is be (was / were), then instead of didn't we put wasn't (was not) or weren't (were not).
I wasn't at home when it happened. – I wasn't home when it happened.
She wasn't a doctor, she was a teacher. – She was not a doctor, but a teacher.
They weren't in China at all. – They haven't been to China at all.
You weren't at work at five p.m. – You weren't at work at five o'clock.
When we ask a question, we put did in first place, before the object, in the verb after the object.
Did you go to cinema yesterday? – Did you go to the cinema yesterday?
Did you hear the news? – Have you heard the news?
Did he love her? - Did he love her?
Did she buy a present for her daughter? – Did she buy a gift for her daughter?
Did they go to Greece every summer? – Did they go to Greece every summer?
Did you live in a hostel? – Did you live in a hostel?
But if it is a question with the verb be (was/were), then did is not required. In this case, was/were comes first, before the object.
Was it her car? – Was this her car?
Were you at the hotel? – Have you been to the hotel?
Was the child with his granny that evening? – Was the child with his grandmother that evening?
Were they too angry? – Were they very angry?
If we ask a question with a question word (where, when, why, etc.), then we put this word in first place.
When did they come? – When they came.
Where did the children go? – Where are the children gone?
What kind of dress did you buy? – Which did you buy the dress?
Where were you last week? – Where were you there last week?
When was the meeting? – When was there a meeting?
Words and expressions with which the Past Simple is used
| Words | Translation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Speaking any language, it is impossible to be fully understood without knowing the rules for the formation of tense forms. In this case, the English language has a wide variety of options for self-expression. However, the main tense group is the so-called “group of simple tenses” or simple tenses, which logically divides time periods into past, present and future. Today we will focus on the Past Simple (pronounced [past simple]) or simple past tense in English and look at the ways of its formation, as well as examples of use.
The Past Simple Tense (also known as the Past Indefinite Tense) is a tense that is used to express states or actions that happened in the past. The so-called simplicity of this time lies in the fact that when using it, do not focus on the duration, completeness, or sequence of one event in relation to another.
The action simply happened in the past, that's a fact, period. Due to the fact that people constantly strive to simplify language, this tense form often replaces other forms of the past tense in writing, and even more often in speech, so knowledge of this particular group is necessary to explain situations and thoughts at a simple level. Let's take a closer look at how, where and how this form is used in English.
The only part of speech that can be changed when forming the past tense are verbs, which can be regular or irregular.
If at first it is difficult for you to understand whether a particular verb is regular or irregular, refer to the table of irregular verbs: if the verb is not on the list, most likely it belongs to the category of regular ones.
Past Simple: sentence forms
Having understood the types of past tense verbs and how they are formed, you need to learn how to construct sentences with them grammatically correctly.
- The affirmative form of the Past Simple does not require the use of auxiliary verbs. To construct a sentence in the affirmative form, it is enough to use a verb in the past tense.
In simple words, it is enough to take an affirmative sentence in the present tense and replace the verb in it with the past tense.
- The negative form the Past Indefinite Tense is formed using the auxiliary verb did and the negative particle not (informally didn’t), which is placed after the subject. An auxiliary verb with a particle is followed by main verb in infinitive. This means that memorized irregular verbs and the ending -ed in negative sentences will not be useful to us.
| Ssubject
(Subject) |
Auxiliary verb +not | Verb
(Verb) |
Object
(An object) |
|
| Present Simple
(Present tense) |
She | does not (doesn't) | love | him. |
| Past Simple
(Past tense) |
She | didn't (didn't) | love | him. |
- The interrogative form is also formed using the auxiliary verb did. It comes first in a sentence, followed by the subject and main meaning. infinitive verb.
For a short positive answer, it is enough to use auxiliary verbs; for a short negative answer, the particle not is needed. If the answer is negative, the auxiliary verb with the particle must be written together (didn’t). The full answer will be in the affirmative or negative form.
For the formation of special questions, the scheme remains practically unchanged. A question word is added to it only at the very beginning. Question words can be anything, here are some of them: what, why, how, how, which, where, where, when.
| ?
word |
Auxiliary
verb |
Ssubject
(Subject) |
Verb
(Verb) |
Object
(An object) |
|
| Present Simple
(Present tense) |
Why |
do | you | like
like |
reading? |
| Past Simple
(Past tense) |
did | you | like
liked it |
reading? |
An exception is the question word who, whose sentences do not require an auxiliary verb. This is where your knowledge of regular and irregular verbs will be needed.
Special questions cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”, so the answers to them are given in a completely affirmative or negative form.
Past Simple - use
The simple past tense is used very often in English. For correct application in practice, consider all cases of using Past Simple:
- To express single actions/states or actions in the past, taken as a fact. Such sentences can be about both ordinary everyday situations and historical events. Often such sentences contain special indicator words expressed:
- circumstance of time, these include: yesterday - yesterday, the day before yesterday - the day before yesterday, last night - last night, last week / month - last week / last month, in 1999 - in 1999, then - then;
- by the adverb ago, for example: 5 years ago - five years ago;
- question words when and how.
Examples:
| Agatha Christie wrote detective novels.
(Agatha Christie wrote detective novels.) |
fact |
| Bruce graduated from the university 3 years ago.
(Bruce graduated from university 3 years ago.) |
|
| We talked to him about the upcoming performance.
(We talked to him about the upcoming performance.) |
single action |
| Steven Spielberg was born in 1946.
(Steven Spielberg was born in 1946.) |
fact indicating a specific year |
| She called you 5 minutes ago. (She called you 5 minutes ago.) |
single action, presence of the adverb ago |
| The Great Patriotic War began on June 22, 1941. | historical fact |
| I was excited to take part in the contest yesterday.
(I was glad to take part in the competition yesterday.) |
condition with time circumstance |
| I didn't like your hairstyle then.
(I didn't like your hair then.) |
action in the past with a time adverbial (I didn’t like it before, but now I like it) |
| Jane drew portraits in the childhood.
(As a child, Jane drew portraits.) |
action in the past (I used to draw, now I don’t) |
| He visited us 2 weeks ago. (He visited us 2 weeks ago.) |
single action, presence of the adverb ago |
| When did you meet each other? (When did you meet each other?) |
question about the past the question word when is used |
- To express habits or actions that were repeated constantly/often in the past, but are not repeated now. Indicator words in this case are expressed:
- adverbs everyday - every day, always - always, often - often, sometimes - sometimes, each time - every time;
- the expression used + verb in the infinitive, which translates as “before”.
| He always wore black jackets. (He always wore black jackets.) |
used to wear it, doesn't wear it now |
| I didn't use to brush my teeth twice a day.
(I didn't brush my teeth twice a day before.) |
I haven’t cleaned it before, but now I do |
| Dad used to smoke up to 10 cigarettes a day.
((Previously) My father smoked up to 10 cigarettes a day.) |
It was a habit, but now it's gone |
| Donald Trump used to host The Apprentice.
(Donald Trump hosted The Apprentice.) |
drove, but now no longer drives |
| Mike used to watch The Big Bang Theory.
(Mike used to watch The Big Bang Theory.) |
I watched it, but I stopped now |
| They took Chinese classes every day.
(They studied Chinese every day.) |
they don't do it anymore |
- When there is a story or listing of events that happened one after another in the past.
- In subordinate clauses of time to express the completeness of an action. Some indicator words for this case:
- as soon as - as soon as, once - as soon as, before - before, untill - until / until, after - after, when - when.
- When using indirect speech, if the verb in the main clause is used in the Past Simple.
- To characterize the subject in the past.
- To report details of any news. To communicate the news itself, the Present Perfect tense should be used, and sentences in Past S should be used to describe it. However, if you are afraid of getting confused with tenses, you can use the simple past tense everywhere in such situations.
- Past Simple is also used to form a conditional sentence of the second type (Second Conditional), which is used to express events in the present or future tenses, the probability of which is very small or completely unrealistic. The Russian equivalent of the second type of conditional sentence may sound like “if only”. A similar sentence is constructed using the conjunction if (if). Table with education formulas:
Examples of use:
| If I had a million dollars, I would found a charitable foundation.
(If I had a million dollars, I would start a charity.) |
Unreal situation. I don’t have any money right now, I can’t start a foundation. |
| If I were you, I would not do this.
(If I were you, I wouldn't do this.) |
Unreal situation. I cannot switch bodies with another person or act for them. |
| We would go swimming if the weather were fine.
(If the weather had been good, we would have gone swimming.) |
The weather is bad, the likelihood that we will be able to go swimming is very low. |
| If I had children, I would spend with them all day long.
(If I had children, I would spend all day with them.) |
But I don’t have children, such a situation is impossible at the moment. |
Please pay attention to two nuances:
- If a sentence begins with a subordinate clause “if”, then a comma is placed at the junction with the second part so that the sentences do not merge and are easier to read;
- In a conditional sentence, the verb to be in the past tense is usually used only in the plural (were), even with the singular pronouns I, he, she, it. The form were in such sentences is subjunctive. Although in everyday speech it is possible to substitute the form was for the singular, when taking tests, choosing was will be considered an error.
- The Past Simple tense is also used with the construction I wish, which is equivalent to the Russian “It’s a pity that not.” Usually such a construction is used to express the desire for some action to happen or to happen differently. As in the case above, this design also consists of two parts. Education formula table:
Examples of use:
Pay attention to the features to understand how such sentences are constructed:
- If we translate the construction in the form “it’s a pity that not”, negative verbs turn into affirmative ones and vice versa;
- As in the formation of a conditional sentence of the second type, the verb to be is used only in the were form, although deviations from the rule are possible in colloquial speech.
- Past Simple is used with another construction that can often be found in colloquial language - it is (it’s) time, which is translated as “it’s time.” Table with education formulas:
Examples of use:
These were all cases of using the Past Simple (Past Indefinite) or the simple past tense. They won't be too difficult, especially if you understand the grammar, learn irregular verbs, and practice using Past Simple Tense in different situations based on the examples above.
